Vedanta Society

The Marina, Fisherman’s Wharf & the Piers


Meandering the Marina, you'll pass Mexican-inspired art deco buildings, Victorian mansions, generic bay-windowed boxes – and, hello, what's this? A riotous 1905 mishmash of architectural styles, with red turrets representing major world religions and the Hindu-inspired Vedanta Society's organizing principle: 'the oneness of existence.' The society founded a new temple in 1959, but its original architectural conundrum remains – the only thing missing is a finger pointing at the moon.

Transportation

  • bus: 22, 41, 45

Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby The Marina, Fisherman’s Wharf & the Piers attractions

1. Church of St Mary the Virgin

0.2 MILES

You'd expect to see this rustic Arts and Crafts–style building on the slopes of Tahoe, not Pacific Heights, but this Episcopal church is full of surprises…

2. Octagon House

0.37 MILES

Crafty architects are always trying to cut corners on clients, and architect William C McElroy has done so splendidly with this house. This is among the…

3. Lombard Financial Center Mosaics

0.58 MILES

A couple years ago, blighted trees in front of this bank were cut down and a treasure hidden for almost half a century was revealed: mosaics by California…

4. Haas-Lilienthal House

0.61 MILES

If these red-velvet parlor walls could talk this 1886 Queen Anne–style Victorian could tell you about earthquakes, booms, busts and untimely deaths. This…

5. Fort Mason Center

0.63 MILES

San Francisco takes subversive glee in turning military installations into venues for nature, fine dining and out-there experimental art. Evidence: Fort…

6. Baker Street Steps

0.66 MILES

A quiet alternative to adjacent Lyon St's social and fitness scene, Baker St's 200 steep, narrow steps between Broadway and Vallejo St are dense with…

7. Lyon Street Steps

0.74 MILES

Two blocks of Lyon St, between Broadway and Green St, are flanked by forests and glamorous mansions – including Senator Dianne Feinstein's – and offer jaw…

8. George Sterling Park

0.78 MILES

'Homeward into the sunset/Still unwearied we go/Till the northern hills are misty/With the amber of afterglow.' Poet George Sterling's poem 'City by the…

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